Gas Bandit's Political Thread V: The Vampire Likes Bats
- Thread starter GasBandit
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The problem there is - and I do agree with you in some ways - that such a sentiment SHOULD be positive and applauded. Being willing and able to work with people with a different point of view is a great and important, I'd almost say foundational, trademark of a well functioning democracy. Try to find middle ground, try to find a good compromise, accept decisions you may not agree with but were determined by an honest majority. It may lead to a more centrist and somewhat slower approach than some might want, but it helps prevent excesses and wild unpredictable swings in policy.
Modern day Republicans have completely and utterly deserted that path and have gone far off the deep end; they're pretty much in the "I'm only intolerant towards the intolerant" category and have been for a while, and especially since Trump (though it was already there during the Obama years) they have completely given up on working in good faith or with any desire to accomplish the greatest good for the majority. Having a different point of view on morality is all well and good - it's a valid opinion to be in favor of the death penalty, or against social services (both stupid as a bag of rocks, but a valid point of view). Lying, deceiving, and perverting every law for the express purpose of avoiding accountability and gaining personal power is against the very basic tenets of democracy and frankly, any senator or representative who has deliberately lied to the public (which is pretty much 90% of Republicans and probably 50% of Democrats) should be barred from ever holding office again.
Modern day Republicans have completely and utterly deserted that path and have gone far off the deep end; they're pretty much in the "I'm only intolerant towards the intolerant" category and have been for a while, and especially since Trump (though it was already there during the Obama years) they have completely given up on working in good faith or with any desire to accomplish the greatest good for the majority. Having a different point of view on morality is all well and good - it's a valid opinion to be in favor of the death penalty, or against social services (both stupid as a bag of rocks, but a valid point of view). Lying, deceiving, and perverting every law for the express purpose of avoiding accountability and gaining personal power is against the very basic tenets of democracy and frankly, any senator or representative who has deliberately lied to the public (which is pretty much 90% of Republicans and probably 50% of Democrats) should be barred from ever holding office again.
Pretty much this. Under normal circumstances one could conceivably compromise and try to meet in the middle, but the current GOP is so extreme there is no middle to see. When one side is extreme to the point of "kill all the Jews" the middle ground isn't "well maybe only kill half the Jews".
At this point the Republican party is basically a dangerous terrorist group and anyone still aligning with them just be seen as dangerous
What I find incredibly saddening is that even political experts and such (e.g. fivethirtyeight, but same seemingly holds true across the 'net) can't seem to come up with anyone who'd be a good or better candidate than Trump and Biden for 2024. One would be 86 at the end of his term, the other 83.
75 was BAD, but 86?! Holy potatoes, that's in the "they shouldn't be allowed to drive anymore" territory.
I'm not saying presidents should be 35 year olds applying for their first job, I can understand why there's a minimum age. But really...Nothing? Nobody capable available from after 1950? FFS.
75 was BAD, but 86?! Holy potatoes, that's in the "they shouldn't be allowed to drive anymore" territory.
I'm not saying presidents should be 35 year olds applying for their first job, I can understand why there's a minimum age. But really...Nothing? Nobody capable available from after 1950? FFS.
After a bit more research, the guy is very clearly a Republican who understands that a registered Republican will have no chance to win that seat. I’m glad with my choice.
This is absolutely not true. It is not that they are only intolerant towards the intolerant, instead it is that they are plain old intolerant.
--Patrick
And then there's this magical thread, where people reply "This you?" to people complaining about the loan forgiving...with screenshots of proof where they had their own loans forgiven. Oopsie doodle.
Wish I could find out more on this but it's hard to stay focused post surgery, but supposedly a CIA memo said that 2021 saw an extremely high rate of "human assets" getting killed, arrested, or just plain disappearing. Human assets are like foreign informants, spies, etc, that help our intelligence apparatus.
Guess who had documents at his golf resort with lists of top secret human assets? Guess who also had a Russian woman as part of his entourage for the last year with a fake identity?
Even if he was not selling the info himself, the fact he never secured the documents means anyone with enough Trump clout could have just walked in and taken photos of whatever they wanted. This keeps getting worst and worst.
Guess who had documents at his golf resort with lists of top secret human assets? Guess who also had a Russian woman as part of his entourage for the last year with a fake identity?
Even if he was not selling the info himself, the fact he never secured the documents means anyone with enough Trump clout could have just walked in and taken photos of whatever they wanted. This keeps getting worst and worst.
All the people crying about the Deep State should be crying about the Russians.
At $249 per day, prison stays leave ex-inmates deep in debt
A few states have been amending or repealing “pay-to-stay” laws that require former prisoners to reimburse states for the cost of their jail stays, sometimes at daily rates exceeding what they would have paid to stay in a luxury hotel.
apnews.com
$250/day ? How the hell are they ever supposed to repay that?
In Canada it's $25/wk taken out of the salary you earn working in CORCAN shops as part of your rehabilitation.
It is shocking to see the level of their shamelessness. I expect hypocrisy it’s practically a badge of honor for the GOP. But complaining about debt relief after you put $2 million in your own pocket is shamelessness on an level I couldn’t conceive of previously.
Since a part of my job is being a western union agent, I regularly send money transfers for people sending money to relatives in prison. The fact that you can be imprisoned and still have to pay for shit you need in there is frankly horrifying to me.
GasBandit
Staff member
Just throwing this here, in case anybody's curious to find out for themselves who else got PPP loans forgiven
Tracking PPP: Search Every Company Approved for Federal Loans - ProPublica
As part of the Paycheck Protection Program, the federal government has provided hundreds of billions in financial support to banks to make low-interest loans to companies and nonprofit organizations in response to the economic devastation caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Search more than 11...
projects.propublica.org
I'm sorry, but I believe if you take out a loan, you should pay back that loan. Being responsible for your own finances is a part of being an adult.
There are those who would argue the terms of (many of) those loans have been unfair at best, and downright bordering on usury at the worst.
--Patrick
How much are student loans in Finland?
GasBandit
Staff member
From what I read, tuition in Finland is covered entirely by the state, so long as you are a citizen of an EU country. Some do take loans out for housing and other expenses that can be up to 3900 EUR every six months. And apparently, consequently, Finland is also now seeing a rise of student debt as well.
Also, most of these loans are given out to people who are not yet considered adults in many states. Seeing how the drinking and smoking ages are 21 in a lot of states. So, I’d argue allowing someone who’s not old enough to make an informed decision on alcohol rack up hundreds of thousands in debt would be a bit predatory.
But, I don’t see why bailing out businesses who take on risky debt or fail to plan properly get bailed out all the time, and it’s suddenly an issue when we start talking about lower income people.
But, I don’t see why bailing out businesses who take on risky debt or fail to plan properly get bailed out all the time, and it’s suddenly an issue when we start talking about lower income people.
I'm not so sure they were tricked into signing the loan contract, nor that they had a gun to their head. Rather, I believe they wanted their particular degree, and knew, or should have known, what it would cost them. And they chose to sign the contract out of their own free will.